Developers Break Ground on $185 Million Residential and Retail Project in Boston’s South End

A joint venture between Morristown, NJ-based Normandy Real Estate Partners and Gerding Edlen of Portland, OR, officially broke ground on the newest residential community in Boston’s booming South End neighborhood.

A joint venture between Morristown, NJ-based Normandy Real Estate Partners and Gerding Edlen of Portland, OR, officially broke ground on the newest residential community in Boston’s booming South End neighborhood.

Troy Boston

Troy Boston is better known as 275 Albany Street, a project that suffered several changes since the initial proposal. According to Curbed Boston’s archives from 2012, the original 275 Albany Street plans called for a two-building hotel with 408 guest rooms on the 10-block lot on the northeastern corner of South End, but the joint venture was forced to redesign everything because of National Development’s highly anticipated Ink Block building that was underway at the corner of Herald Street and Harrison Avenue. Consequently, the revised project included an apartment building with 220 units and a standalone hotel facility with 325 rooms.

Troy Boston is the final version of the Normandy/Gerding partnership and is estimated to cost $185 million. Described as a sustainable “smart growth development” and expected to obtain a LEED Gold certification, this state-of-the-art mixed-use development will revitalize a key corridor in South End and reconnect the neighborhood with Chinatown, the Theater District and South Boston. As unveiled in an official statement from the developers, the mixed-use project will be built on a 1.27-acre site between Traveler and Berkeley Streets that used to be part of the original rail system from the Boston and Albany Railroad.

The plans designed by ADD Inc. architects include two residential towers totaling a mix of 340 market rate apartments and 38 affordable units, while the 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space will accommodate restaurants, cafes and boutique stores that are expected to create a new vibrant community for residents and visitors alike. The new development will also feature a surface parking garage for 180 cars and premier amenities including a fitness center, pool deck, and common space lounges. According to the developers, construction at Troy Boston is slated for completion in early 2015.